The Sun. — London, England, 1838-02-03 00:00:00

Power of refusing the supplies. If a Bill came from the Com mons to which it was thought expedient by the Crown that the Royal assent should be refused, the Crown by that act of re fusal would come into direct collision with the Commons. The result would be a refusal of the supplies, and the Crown, hav ing no other resources, of course must yield. The Govern ment would thus come to be purely democratic. What pre vented it becoming so at present? The Crown sheltered itself behind the Peers ; and did that through the Peers which it might do itself ; but in point of fact, though it had the power it never exercised it. Was this the case in the colonies ? N othing of the kind. The Governor there refused his assent to measures as easily as did the House of Lords in this country. The Govornor had, in fact, no occasion for the Protection of an Upper House. How different was the situa tion of the colonies from that of the mother-country. How far more dependent on the mother-country, that was to say , )11 the Crown, must be the people of the colonies than would be the people of this country with an Elective Council. If the Crown was refused its supplies, it had no other resources. Were the Crown able to raise its ten or twelve millions asyear without the consent of the Commons its position would be altogether different. Do what they would, as long as Parliament chose to provide the supplies which the Colo nial Assembly withheld, so long would they be able to exers else a controul over the State. If the Colonial Assembly refused money, let the Crown refuse its assent to their Bills, and this it would bring them to a certain degree under itz authority. The result would be, not that either party would accomplish its purpose, but the business would would end as it ought to end, by each sacrificing a little. Thus harmony would prevail, and future discords be avoided. He therefore held that it was unwise to send out his Noble Friend without those full powers, which, if he was to be deprived of, he had better not go at all.—( Hear, hear.) They had been advised of a case of infinitely grave im portance, of a revolt—as compared with which, what had lately broken out in Canada, even if that was tenfold what it was, would still be a mere nothing—he alluded to the record which was to be found in that rich field of experience which the history of the Spanish colonies in the New World, written by his dear kinsman, Wm. Robertson, presented—the record of that remarkable rebellion of Pizarro in Peru. When the whole country had risen in arms, when Blasco Nugnez Vela, the viceroy of the Emperor, had been met by the rebel Pizarro at the head of his forces ; had been overthrown in several pitched battles ; had been dethroned and imprisoned, and, in the last battle which he fought had been put to death—when the whole of the large populatiorf of that rich province were banded together in a well-organised military system of revolt, the Emperor, a man of vast experience, of great ability, and consummate wisdom, Charles V., saw but one course to take to prevent the final loss of his rich domi nions, and that was the appointment of Gasca to repair to Peru as President. The history thus described the individual who was selected for that high trust : t‘ The success, however, of this negotiation, no less delicate than it was important, depended entirely on the abilities and address of the person to whom it should be committed. After weighing, with much attention, the comparative merits of various persons, the Spanish ministers fixed with unanimity of choice upon Pedro de la Gasca, a priest in no higher sta tion than that of Counsellor to the Inquisition. Though in no public office, he had been occasionally employed by Govern. merit in affairs cf trust and consequence, and had conducted them with no less skill than success, displaying a gentle and insinuating temper, accompanied with much firmness; probity superior to any feeling of private interest, and a cautious cir cumspection in concerting measures, followed by such vigour in executing them, as is rarely found in alliance with the other. These qualities marked him out for the function to which he was destined. The Emperor, to whom Gasca was not un known, warmly approved of the choice, and communicated it to bins in a letter containing expressions of good-will and con fidence, no less honourable to the prince who wrote than to the subject who received it. Gasca, notwithstanding his advanced age and feeble constitution, and though from the apprehensions natural to a men who, during the course of his life, had never been out of his own country, he dreaded the effects of a long voyage and of an unhealthy climate, did not hesitate a moment about complying with the will of his sove reign. But, as a proof that it was from this principle alone he acted, he refused a bishopric that was offered to him, in order that he might appear in Peru with a more dignified cha racter ; he would accept of no higher title than that of Presi dent of the Court of Audience in Lisa, and declared that he would receive no salary on account of his discharging the duties of that office. All he required was, that the expense ' of supporting his family should be defrayed by the public ; and as he was to go like a minister of peace witth his goon and breviary, and without any retinue but a few domestics, this would not load the tevenue with any enormous burden. But while he discovered such disinterested moderation with respect to whatever related personally to himself, he demanded his official powers in a very different tone. He insisted, as he was to be employed in a country so remote from the seat of go'-ernment, where he could not have recourse to his sove reign for new instructions on every emergency, and as the whole success of his negotiations must depend on the confi dence which the people with whom he had to treat could place in the extent of his powere, that he ought to be invested with un limited authority ; that his jurisdiction must reach to all per sons and to all causes ; that he must be empowered to pardon, to punish, or to reward, as circumstances and the behaviour of different men might require ; that in case of resistance from th e malcontents, he might be authorised to reduce them to obedience by force of arms, to levy troops for that pur pose, and to call for assistance from the governors of all the Spanish settlements in America. These powers, though manifestly conducive to the great objects of his mission, ap- Peared to the Spanish Ministers to be inalienable prero gatives of royalty, which ought not to be delegated to a subject; and they refused to grant them. But the Em peror's views were more enlarged. As, from the nature of his employment, Gasca must be entrusted with discretionary Power in several points, and all his efforts might prove in effectual if he was circumscribed in any one particular, Charles scrupled not to invest him with authority to the full extent that he demanded. Highly satisfied with this fresh P r oof of his master's confidence, Gasca hastened his departu re , and, without either money or troops, set o ut to quell a formidable rebellion." In all the ne- Fotiatons which followed he invariably triumphed over nis antagonists, and Pizarro, foiled in the war of the pen, got together a powerful army, and advanced against h ad at th e h ea d o f his forces. What did Gasca? As he. hi s not disappointed the expectations of Charles hitherto by , 15 cond uct in the Cabinet, to he did greatly disappoint the Z°Pes of Pizarro by his conduct in the field. He equipped a fl ee t ; he capt ure d a ll Pi zarro ' s cru isers ; he fitted out an rr nY, he met Pizarro in the field, he destroyed him and his rnY, and brought his associates to the gallows ; and then e gan the only part of his history which was wanting to the Rolsummation of his glory. Having prevailed over valorous o !ers i n t h e fi eld, and tr i umphed over the mature cunn i ng his ad versar i es by his diplomatic skill—having gained the ad miration o f a ll by his courage and abilities, all that remained a to sho w th at t h at hi s v i rtues were, if poss ibl e, st ill greater th an these. " And when," said the historian, "men cane to 4 11 e ,that in his distribution of rewards, where his power was tin aaslted, absolute, and arbitrary, he had given away millions s ‘, Millions in territory, in money, and in plate, and had ilet_se.rved neither for himself nor his followers, nor his ad m 'lY, nor his connections one single farthing, the universal miration which his genius had commanded was lost in the which his virtues had gained for him. He returned to the larnPeror more than successful, triumphant over all his adver t'es, and over all the weaknesses of human nature ; he re turn,,life u to Europe, and passed in the privacy of ecclesiastical y , es the residue of his days, in the tranquillity of retirement, 1 0 , , ,P e ected by the country, honoured by his Sovereign, and be ie , i ( 1 1 by all." This most remarkable and instructive passage a history of Charles V. afforded a striking lesson to Mi t, 'l's what course to pursue as to the powers to be given b tu the Noble Lord about to proceed to Canada. He (Lord i tt e u e tl:atn) should now r et i re f rom t h e contemp l at i on o f t hi s ° y respect most painful and lamentable, in some re -I,l"ets_most disgraceful, subject ; and the last advice he should out of t.i overnment . would be to go every length, all lengths, their way, in order to restore a feeling of kindness be eifTt us and our fellow-subjects in Canada. Let them be mer ,4.l as well as just, and listen not, above all things, to the oument s of those who told them the time for concession a n gone by, and that though it would have been right to give Rh gone the Canadians y ' e asked now, and what they had asked be foret4 th e rebellion broke out, it would be wrong to give it now the ir demands rebellion, had broken out. If it was right to grant 1, demands at any time it was right still. If it had hitherto e e „, er ong to grant them it was wrong sti I; and let them L their minds s t ea dil y to re f use them. If t h ey were e t l ' o ", u ,l . n doing so, the ch arac t er o f t hi s country was qu i te hi gh lustre to prevent anything from staining or tarnishing its 0t.,, let Government do what was right, and they need fear th em ' lll B 4 twitting them with vacillation or weakness. Let acti ons e justice their rule, their guide, the basis of all their th e i r „1 and slander could not touch them. Let them do ge t utmost endeavour to bring about that peace without which did t ued empire seas but extended weakness—which, if they fi e l d c 't restore, they would find vain all their victories in the eoncilirin the Council, or in the Legislature ; if they did not might ate the real affections of our Canadian brethren, they kai nta • e Pcnd on it that they would find Canada, even if they vislontied,i!„....hu.t accumulated weakness. L Ordf n‘ MELBOURNE thanked the Noble and Learned "nela o r e V exhortation and admonition with which he had asl f,pto hiss speech. Ile could only say that he entirely . _ ! e r seci '. the tone, he nerfectly concurred in the spirit, he in t h e • . e w , aB quit justice and the wisdom of that admonition, and e a e Prepared to shadh by the principles which the !i.oq,eritn,d Learned Lord so ably, and powerfully, and tist ers, . 1 Y impressed on their Lordships her Majesty's Ali 7suld b i 2 l the difficult course in which they were engaged, e 'l l rlss t.teti entirely guided. For the part . of the Noble and ej • 'llon Lord's speech recommending harmony and con 414aynd attention to the dictates of justice tempered ch ant m ; the only pure and enlarged policy, he (Vis eob,e,hourne) was extiemely obliged. Those parts of nature,ttllffils,yerit'eaeid Leaned Lord's speech which were of a tt it `, th e i r T which were so severe and sarcastic in their wit , Lordships n ould readily excuse him from . troubling i t c ' r ,tnee) ,ant , lengthened reply to. He (Viscount Mel leiN it mad long expected the outburst. He all along y of tt , St come —that the spirit of bitterness, the ascer ',rd's „,'lng which took its birth in the Noble and Learned trpor,:tg strength and bitterness from long and forcible a l? tier st break out at last.—( A laugh.) This was 'ur sao :° 0 than he had long expected—than was natural Iv4 s t People were blind in respect to themselves, and 4ta:,d.ast'l,t:ssible to perceive in their own case that which was tt, :nt s d the rest of mankind, and which was approved and sad 'tilsj tc ° by the ge nera l o pi n i o n of all those who considered l ear t He ( Vi scount M e lb ou rne) thanked the Noble from Lord for his active suport in 1835, for his ab rn the House in 1836—(A laugh)--for his less ac tire support in 1837 ; and he felt no irritation at the very dif ferent tone which the Noble and Learned Lord's regard for the public service, his zeal for the public welfare, his great prtriotism, and his anxious desire for the people's well-being„ had reluctantly compelled the Noble and Learned Lord to adopt in the pi esent session.—( Laughter. ) The topics in troduced in the present debate wore much the same as those made use of on a former occasion. The charges brought against Government were much of the same character as those urged before. The principal of these charges were great delay, vacillation, and fluctuation of opinion, a defi ciency of 'firmness, and the not acting on a well-considered and well-determined line of policy. But what was the gist of the accusation and condemnation of Government—what was the specific error—what was the step which ought to have been taken and which had not been taken—what was the evil proved to have arisen from the delay— what was the measure which ought to have been adopted. and which had been omitted ? The. Noble and Learned Lord said the object of the Commission which was appointed was delay—that no further information was required —that the information attained in 18:28 was sufficient. He ( Viscount Melbourne) did not concur in this view of the sub ject; on the contrary, the most plausible argument against the present measure seemed to be that even now we had not sufficient infotmation on the subject of the colony. Suppose that Lord Amhest had gone out with his instructions gene rally of a conciliatory nature, and directed to stand firm by the Legislative Council, what would have been the result ? The Canadians would still have insisted on an Elective Coun cil. Every one knew that they would have insisted on this, and the effect would only have been to bring on at an earlier period the same state of things which had occurred now. There was no reasonable supposition that the House of As sembly would ever have voted the supplies without not merely an Elective Council, the responsibility which they demanded of the Governor to themselves. He ( Viscount Melbourne) would not now enter into any discussion on the question of an Elective Council. He did not know whether or not some mode of election might not be devised, compatible with the Monarchy of this country ; but of this he was sure, that the responsibility of the Governor to the Assembly amounted to independence at onee—( Hear, hear)—and this demand was unquestionably made by the House of Assembly to be refused them only on peril of their putting into direct use the means which Parliament had placed in their hands. These things must be judged by the manner in which they were employed. The Noble and Learned Lord had described Parliament as having given the Canadians the poweit of re fusing the supplies only in the intention that they should not exercise it, for that the moment they did exercise it, it was taken away, and their Constitution suspended. But this was a question of manner and degree. If the House of As sembly made use of this power for the purpose of stoppin g the whole course of G ove r nmen t, o f s h utt i ng up t h e courts of law, it became evident that steps must be taken to restore Government to a situation in which it could work. When there were three powers in the Constitution, and one of these pushed its power to an extr e mity, e i t h er t h e other two must yield to the third, or some change and alteration must take place in the distribution of these powers. The demand of the House of Assemby involved a decided change in the whol e f o r m o f th e C onst i tut i on , an d b ecause it had not been acceded to they had stopped the whole course of Go vernment. What then remained for the Supreme Govern ment to do except to make a great change in the state of things, or at least to suspend the Constitution, in order to see what changes might advantageously be made ? The Con . stitution had practically been suspended by the Canadians themselves. The Legislative Council refused tiee bills sent up by the House of Assembly, the House of Assembly refused supplies ; the heart and brain had ceased to act together; it was impossible that things could go on in such a state, and the best step to be taken appeared to be that of suspending for a short time the Constitution of 1791, and giving the proposed powers to the nobleman who had been selected by Ministers to proceed to Canada ; a nobleman of great ability, though, as it might seem, hardly equal to the eminent ecclesiastic of whom the Noble and Learned Lord had read them so eulogistic an account—an account, indeed, which the lively historian made appear somewhat like a romance. [Lord Brougham observed that Dr. Robertson was a most accurate historian.] The Noble Viscount went on to say that the next matter to which the Noble and Learned Lord bad adverted was the delay which had taken place in the nomination of the new Legislative and Executive Councils. He (Viscount Melbourne) certainly must confess that he wished the nomination had taken place before the last week in Decernber—( Hear, hear)—but there had been great difficulty experienced in reference to the selection of Members ; and there were other circum stances. which, in the present state of affairs in the colony, it might be improper to particularize, which, to a certain degree, accounted for the delay ; but there was nothing in these circumstances to justify the Assembly in the violent, obstinate conduct they had pursued. With respect to the resolutions, he (Viscount Melbourne) believed they had passed their Lordships' House with as much rapidity as pos sible. There were many matters of great importance, and very exciting in their nature, in agitation at the time. As to the other House, it was well known that in the present times Hon. Members were not very willing to hate an inch of their right of precedence, to give way with any motion, every one appearing as anxious to deliver himself of his speech as if it were a matter of life and death to his constituents—( A laugh) —and consequently the march of public businefs was not quite so regular or smooth for the Government there as in former times, when there was not so much emulation or strong feel ing among the Members of that House as at present. The idea which the Noble and Learned Lord had seemed to ex press. that it would be more constitutional to pay the money in this country than to take it out of the chest of the Canadians, was in no degree adopted by the Canadians, or those who were best informed on Canadian affairs, who all considered such a course as much superseding the House of Assembly as the ether course, as equally inconsistent with the form and spirit and right working of a free Constitution. As to the forces in Canada, the real fact was, the military farces there had not been reinforced because Government believed from the re presentations made, both from the civil and military autho rities there, and from other quarters, that there was no danger of an outbreak during the winter. This had turned out to be not the case—to be an error in judgment; and certainly, after what had taken place, he ( Viscount Melbourne) greatly wished that additional troops had been early sent out—( Hear, hear) —though he did not believe that even this would have pre vented the outbreak, for the outbreak Was an unpremeditated one. He ( Viscount Melbourne) apprehended the state of the case to be this s—As far as could be collected from what was known on the subject, the information on which was by means even yet complete. Mr. Papineau, finding himself playing a dif ficult and dangerous game, said to the people, " Do not resist now, but be prepared for resistance; arm yourselves, and be ready to assemble together at one point when I call upon you, but do not rise till you are desired." Now, this would not do; it would not do to tell people to arm themselves, to prepare for resistance, to inflame their minds with representations of their wrongs and injuries, and at the same time suppose that they were to be held in like greyhounds in a leash, to be let out only at pleasure.—( Hear, hear.) The real fact was, that when the organization of the disaffected was discovered, and persons were apprehended in consequence, this produced re sistance, the outbreak ; and whatever had been the number of troops in the province at the time, he ( Viscount Mel bourne) fully believed that the outbreak would still have taken place. It was, however, impossible to deny that if there had been more troops there Sir J. Colborne could not have been justified in sending for more troops, or in draughting off those in the Upper Province. But Govern ment proceeded on the calculation that there would be no hi surrection in the winter. Some observations had been made in reference to the change which had elsewhere been made in the preamble of the Bill. He ( Viscount Melbourne) was well aware that the course which had been pursued in framing that preamble was novel, without precedent; but the circumstance of its being without precedent by no means necessarily proved it to have been erroneous; to show this it must be proved to have been absurd and unwise. In framing that preamble, and the instructions which had been adverted to, they had been guided by that spirit which bad breathed throughout the speech of the Noble and Learned Lord. They were anxious that there should stand as the basis of the measure a distinct statement that though they were establishing an arbitrary power in Ca nada— an arbitrary power, let it be observed, not a despotism, for what he ( Viscount Melbourne) understood by despotism was irrespensible power, a description which could not be applied to that with which Lord Durham was entrusted— they were anxious, he would repeat, to state in the front and face of the measure, to the people of Canada, of England, to the whole world, that what they were doing was only for a temporary purpose; to exhibit their anxiety to return to con stitutional forms of government at the earliest possible period; and though he believed it to be unusual to refer to instructions given by the Crown in preambles to Acts of Parliament, y et it bad been considered ho w great was t h e magn i tu d e o f the occa sion, and the necessity there was of giving this public notice, to show the full concurrence between the Legislative and Ex cutive powers on the subject, and to prove the manner for which the one was disposed to combine and co-operate with the other. The Noble and Learned Lord had made some very se vere observations on the dispatches from Upper Canada of Sir Francis Head, and unquestionably these might be considered as not altogether free from a certain over-chivalrous tone, not altogether unmixed with imprudence—( Hear) —and as exhi biting a mode of proceeding somewhat hazardous in its cha racter; for it appeared f rom Si r Franc i s Hea d' s own state ment thatit was only owing to accident, and to a little hesitation and want of resolution on the part of those by whom he was assailed, that he had not sufferred very severely from his over confidence.—(Hear, hear, hear.) He (Vis count Melbourne) quite agreed with the Noble and Learned Lord that if they ,sere to judge entirely from the expres sions used by Sir F. Head, himself, it could hardly be de nied that that officer would appe ar t o h ave given enc' enrage ment to those crimes which it w as state d might by a differ ent line of proceeding have been prevented. But it must be be considered that theseexpre ss i ons were cast i n t h e epi grammatic pointed style , which Sir F. H ea d was k nown t o admire, and which might lead persons to see in them a wider statement of what had been done, and what dangers bad been incurred, than was meant to be conveyed. In con sideringquestion of the pr o p r i ety o f delay in interfei g going on,it must be r emem b ere d t h at i n th e in what s the ,a s presen t times a preventive cr precautionary policy was not very popular; that a man ran great risks in pursuing it ; that until an insurrection actually broke out, there were very tew persons who would admit that there was an intention that it should break out. Had such strong measures been taken as to prevent the outbreak, and the parties in question had not actually joined themselves to the i nsurgents, i t wou ld have been asserted on all sides tnat there never h a d b ee n the slightest intention of insurrection; that nothing had ever been proposed to be done but by the most constitutional means ; and, therefore, though undoubtedly he could not praise the prudence of Sir F. Head's conduct, on his own showing, THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1838 yet in all probability, if that officer had interfered too early, he would have run the risk of a charge of having interfered with out any reason whatever. Undoubtedly the events which had taken place in Upper Canada, on the frontier, were full of that evil and misfortune which had been so eloquently and ably stated by the Noble and Learned Lord. There was, how ever, not an insurrection of the Upper Canadians, but in fact an invasion on the part of certain wild and lawless inhabitants of the United States of North America. The persons who had occupied Navy Island were mostly North Americans, and the person who described himself as their general was a native-born American. It was, under such circumstances, highly satisfactory to him ( Viscount Melbourne) to have it in his power to state that all these proceedings were entirely disapproved of and discountenanced by the Government of the United States—( Hear, hear)—that our Minister at Washing ton had received the most complete disclaimer of these pro ceedings on the part of the Government there, and the most satisfactory assurances that all the powers of the Central Government would be exerted for the purpose of putting an end to the insurrection, and preserving the neutrality of the United States in a contest which they deeply lamented.— ( Hear, hear.) Further, a message had been sent to Congress for additional h tionaly the pow Presidentersforthis exhorting puriiose the iz ,audaproclamation of had been made the United States to abstain from interfering in the contest.— ( Hear, hear.) Though he (Viscount Melbourne) looked with as much anxiety as the Noble and Learned Lord to this sub ject, yet that anxious solicitude was much diminished by these I assurances of good faith, prudence, and wisdom on the part of ' the North American Government. Notwithstanding the se verity of the Noble Earl opposite, and the bitterness, the acerbity, of the Learned Lord on his right hand, yet to him ( Viscount Melbourne) it was a great matter of consolation that on the Bill before their Lordships there was no difference of opinion. He could assure their Lordship; that so far as the Govern mant of this country was concerned, and as far as the Noble Earl entrusted with the execution of the measure was con , cerned:there was the utmost anxiety to heal the wounds now open, to produce a return of good feeling and affection be tween this country and Canada, and to do everything to pro mote the happiness and prosperity of that province.—( Hear.) Lord BROUG HAM—I purposely abstain on this occasion from going further into the personal remarks of the Noble Viscount, because I will not thus interrupt the discussion of a great public question. But when he compares and contrasts my conduct towards the Government this Session with that which I formerly held, he utterly and notoriously forgets the whole of the facts. Has he forgotten, can he have forgotten, that last May I both urged the same charges and recorded them on your Journals? I even pursued the self-same course of argument which ha., I observe, to-night given him so great offence. He speaks of " acerbity"—a person supposed to have used bitter remarks is perhaps not a judge of the compa rative " acerbity" of his different observations—nor is one, possibly, against whom they have been employed. But I venture to say, that of all I said this night, the portion which he felt the most bitter, and to which, be it observed in passing, he made not the least ;Illusion, was my comparison of his con duct towards unrep-esented Canada sad well-represented Ireland. Well—last May I drew the very same comparison, and nearly in the same terms—made the same quotations from the Ministerial speeches in the Commons—and recorded the substance of the comparison in my protest. My Lords—l in dignantly and peremptorily deny that the motive or principle of my conduct is changed. But I know minnd,is in arakstedt orderl ers e ier c eto o hn u tac d ote u lm c m t nooar o wye f others has compelled me t e o ir o Ds l u i e r p ro tph s o e er t t i ,N ie al not wh a changßille e m sto y re rr n in ie ei ro le t s b . fight zealously in their ranks, as I fought with them against the majority of your Lordships ? I will tell them at once I Let them retract their declaration against Reform, de livered the first night of this Session, and their second decla ration—by which (to use the Noble Viscount's phrase) they exacerbated the first; or let them, without any retractation, only bring forward liberal and constitutional measures—they will have no more zealous supporter than myself. But, in the meantime, I now hurl my defiance at his head—l repeat it—l hurl at his head this defiance—l defy him to point out any, the, slightest, indication of any one part of my public conduct having, even for one instant, been affected, in any manner of I way, by considerations of a private and personal nature, of been regulated by any one consideration except the sense of what I owe to my own principles, and to the interests of the country I The Duke of WELLINGTON was understood to say— " My Lords, it is my wish to avoid as much as possible all reference to what has passed hitherto, and to confine my ob servations, as nearly as I can, to that part of the speech of the Noble Viscount at the head of the Administration which re lated to the mission of Lord Amherst to Canada. My Lords, I concur with my Noble Friend (Lord Aberdeen) in the opinion which he has formed, that if the mission of Lord Amherst had been allowed to go on, or if a similar mission had been sent out —no matter whether the person appointed to execute it was in the capacity of a Governor or not—in order to carry into execution the measures proposed in 1833, which were inquired into in 18.35 and 1836, and were not ready to be carried into execution in 1837, I du think there would have been some chance that if those measures had been adopted they would have been successful, and have pre vented what has happened.--( Hear, hear.) My Lords, I must express my concurrence in what fell from the Noble and Learned Lord opposite and my Noble Friend at the commencement of this debate, that the inquiry of the Com missioners was, to say the least of it, an entirely useless proceeding.—( Hear, hear.) This measure is applicable solely to Lower Canada; and, my Lords, I do not agree with the Noble and Learned Lord opposite in what he stated as to the necessity of defining the degree to which a province such as either Upper or Lower Canada shall offend before a measure like the present is adopted. My Lords, I think there is a clear and obvious distinction to be drawn between the two cases. I think there is a manifest difference be tween the circumstances of Upper and Lower Canada. It is no doubt perfectly true that rebellion has broken out in each province, but then the Noble and Learned Lord has failed to remark that Upper Canada has not refused to pro vide the means necessary for administering the Civil Govern ment of that province —has not refused the means of pro viding for the proper administration of justice—has not in sisted upon revolutionising the Government, and rendering the Legislative Council and the Executive Council elective— has not refused the supplies on the score of those measures not being conceded.---( Hear, hear.) Observe, my Lords, that these measures never were thought of by the Assembly of Lower Canada until after the Act of 1831 had placed the public money at their disposal. Then it was that they for the first time came, and made those demands—demands which they well knew could not be granted by this country unless we consented to destroy the Constitution by which we claim to hold the colony—the Constitution established by the Act. of 1791. Now, my Lords, what did they require us to do? Why, they called upon us to repeal the greater part of that Act, be cause they said, " Unless you will give us full controul and exclusive power over the public money and the Government of the Province, we will not afford you the means of carry ing on the Government, or of doing that which was incum bent on every Government—administering justice to all classes of its subjects."—(Hear.) My Lords, this consti tutes the great distinction between the conduct of Lower Canada and that of the pi-evince of Upper Canada. But, my Lords, this is not all. My Lords, it is a notorious fact, that a great number of the members of the House of Assem ble, and I believe also of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada, have been not merely concerned in the rebellion, but leaders in the revolt ; that some of them have been killed, some taken prisoners, and others have effected their escape into the United States—that those men now stand pro. claimed as rebels and traitors to their country, and that they had fled from justice. My Lords, the Noble and Learned Lord opposite adverted in strong terms to the complaints made against the conduct of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada, for making use of what he seemed to consider their undoubted rights and privilege in refusing the Supplies. The Noble and Learned Lord said, you told them that by the Act of 1831, they were to have the public money at their disposal ; they were to have the privilege of refusing the means neces sary for carrying on the Government or the administration of justice, and when they exercised this sight and theac privileges you declared that by doing so they had forfeited the Consti tution which you had given to them. My Lords, I am one of the last persons to defend such an argument as this. —( Hear. ) My Lords, it seems to mo to be impossible that the Legisla tive Assembly of Lower Canada can ever be called together again with any hope that they would carry those measures which it may be necessary hereafter to adopt for the proper government of that Province, and therefore it behoves us to inquire what shall be the foundation of the future government of Lower Canada. My Lords, her Majesty's Ministers, it would appear, have taken this subject into their consideration, and have actually issued a paper containing the instructions intended to be given by the Government to the Nobleman whom they propos3 to send out to this colony. These instruc tions,, I confess, have surprised me; but es I do not wish to comment on them in detail, I will confine my o b servat i o ns to tint part of them which I think material to the present discussion. Now, my Lords, what is the Governor- Ge neral about to be sent out to do with respect to the Govern ment of Lower Canada? Why, he is directed to call into his councils, for the purpose of preparing measures for the Go vernment of Lower Canada, a given number of persons front the Upper Province, some of them to be s e lected by the House of Assembly and others by himself. But, my Lords, this is not all ; there is to be called into the Council, for the purpose of fixing and regulating the Government of Lower Canada, and taking measures for the formation of a Constitu tion for that province, not only a detachment from the Legis lative Council and House of Assembly of Upper Canada, but likewise a certain body of persons to be elected by five districts of the Lower Province. Now, my Lords, what were these parties required to do? Why, not only to act with the Go vernor in the character of legislators, but, in point of fact, to constitute with him an Elective Council.—( Hear, hear.) So, then, it seems that although we are bore disputing with the people of Lower Canada on the justice and right of their claim to have an Elective Legislature, as well as an Elective Executive Council, it is the intention of the Govern ment to form a Council on the elective principle—a Council to be composed of councillors, one portion of whom are to be elected from five districts of the Lower, and another from five districts of the Upper Province.—( Hear.) This, too, is to be done, my Lords, but for what purpose? Why, for enabling the Governor-General to form a Constitution for Lower Canada. The Bill now before your Lordships applies only to Lower Canada. Upper Canada is not included in it, and I should therefore like to know from the Noble at the head 1 of her Majesty's Government what the province of Upper Canada has done to induce that Noble Lord to deprive the Legislature of Upper Canada of those powers over subjects referred to in these instructions, and which properly fall within their controul ? It seems to me, my Lords, that the better course would be to allow the matter to be taken into consideration by the Legislature when they assemble again, or that the Noble Lord who is. f.soing out should not go into the consideration of the subject until the House of Assent bly of Upper Canada can be re-assembled. This deseription of convention was of importance to the rights of the House of Assembly of Upper Canada. My Lords, it appears to me that this measure has been adopted with the view which the Noble Viscount has candidly stated—that of making people believe that it was simply a convention, for the pur of forming a Constitution for the province of Lower Canada. The words in the preamble of the Bill struck out in the other House do not show that this was the arrangement originally intended. On the contrary, it would seem from those words that the convention was one which is inconsistent with the Con stitution of this country and the principle on which the Legis lature o f L ow er Canada was establi s h e d i n 17 91. The Noble Viscount disputed the calculations formed of the mission of Lord Amherst in 1835; but I believe it would have been beneficial in many respects. My Lords, I must say that it would be a gross usurpation to attempt to carry these instruc tions into execution.—( Hear.) The Noble and Learned Lord opposite has said a good deal relative to the election of what he calls the Legislative Council, but in my opinion he has not stated with his usual accaracy the relation between the Governor of a colony and the Executive Government in this country.—(Hear.) The Noble and Learned Lord seems to think, my Lords, that the Governor of a colony can without either difficulty or inconvenience refuse his assent to ' the acts of the Legislative Council; but in this I conceive the Noble and Learned Lord is not quite accurate. With re spect to acts relating to foreign States--having reference to the relations between Upper and Lower Canada, or the com munication by the St. Lawrence, those were matters upon which the Governor might refuse his sanction ; but then there were other acts, of nature upon which he could not. My Lords, there isa large English population in Lower Canada, which require protection. By whom is that population pro tected? Not by the House of Assembly, because it is elected by the French; but by the Legislative Council, which is no minated by the Crown.—( Hear, hear.) Now it should not be forgotten that all the questions respecting the communication between Upper and Lower Canada had direct relation to that very subject of an elective Legislative Council, and that, if either party should feel aggrieved by such a change this country would find great difficulty in placing those pro vinces on a new and a different footing with regard to each other. With respect to the outbreak, my Lords, that was a matter which, according to the opinion of a general officer, had been anticipated in October. He had taken measures to pro vide horses, and adopted other steps, which proved that he expected a rebellion, and it was even asked by an lion. Mem ber in the other House of Parliament, at the close of the last Session, how the winter was to be got over in Canada ? It was clear from this that at that time communications had been going on between parties in Canada and in this country on the subject.—( Hear, hear.) My Lords, I sincerely hope that the rebellion has been got under ; but I trust her Ma jesty's Ministers will not suppose for a moment that it has been got rid of altogether. On the contrary I entreat them to continue their preparations, and to assemble at the earliest possible period as large a force as the resources of this country can afford in Canada. They should not think that this was a little war, and of no importance to this country. Observe, my Lords, what has occurred since the 2d of December, the day we first heard of the misfortunes of Canada. No less than four important events have taken place since that period in that part of the world, every one of which is strongly calculated to draw towards it the whole attention of the Government.—(Hear.) For my own part, I had not the slightest suspicion that a revolt would take place until the news was received; but I now know that the President of the United States has issued strict orders to prevent all hostile proceedings between the United States and the two provinces of Canada, and appointed parties to super intend and enforce the due execution of these orders.—( Hear.) But, my Lords, we should not forget that there are many im portant questions unsettled. The questions relating not only to our own boundary line, but the boundary line of Columbia and Mexico remain open. These are all important questions to the country, and I hope her Majesty's Government will pay to them the attention which they deserve, and not be led away by the notion that they were only engaged in a small affair.— ( Hear, hear.) In proportion to their firmness on the present occasion, they would find friends and allies not olds , in Canada but in the United States, and therefore it was he implored the Government not to be deceived for a moment, by supposing that the matter had ceased.---( Hear.) Lord BROUGHAM did not see how the Hon. Member of the other Douse to whom the Noble Duke had alluded could be in communication with improper parties in Canada, because he mentioned a fact that was also within the know ledge of the Noble Duke. The Noble Duke had received a similar communication, although it could not be thought that he was in correspondence with the disaffected of Canada; and that being the case, was not the Noble Duke wanting in cha rity to impute to another that which he would not allow to be imputed to him A laugh.) Lord WHARNCLIFFE must declare it was his opinion that the Government had placed themselves in a situation of great and serious responsibility. The Noble Viscount defied any one to put his hands on any facts inculpating the Govern ment ; but he should have thought that not only might he have inferred that the charge against him was serious and heavy, but that it deserved more consideration than he had given to it. When the present Goverment came into office, what did they do ? They found that steps had been taken by the Government that preceded them to settle the grievances complained of by the Canadian people ; but instead of following that course up, they contented them. selves with a mere inquiry. Prior to this what was the state of Canada? The supplies were not refused, it was true, but in February, 1834, 92 resolutions were passed by the House of Assembly of Lower Canada, which showed clearly that what they wanted was not the concession of their minor demands, but a Republican' Government and a connection with the United States. All the rest was mere pretence, and there could be no doubt that the object of the leaders of the party was; to throw off the connection with this country. The fault o of f t i h n e cio p i r r e y s . e n l t v G in o t v bad ernm t e h n a t t was oom I t o h i e ssi sendingoo done? tTahcommissihadonpur sued timt althoughtheir inquiryai and oe d m what u owhasthe information, resu 1 t ? i N t V v, h . as perfectly useless, owing to the difficulty of drawing apy conclu sioncameten resolutions from- Next the of which they had heard so much. The Noble Viscount said that the Go t h ei then for two reports e c a o r n s Go vernment were not to be blamed for the delay which had oc curred on that subject; but it was not the want of firmness which the Ministers had displayed in the House of Commons to which the remaining in abeyance of their resolutions from March 6 to April 4 in that House was to be attributed? On the 10th of May the resolutions introduced in the other House of Parliament passed their Lordships' House without one dis sentient voice, with the exception of that of his Noble and Learned Friend (Lord Brougham). Why, then, lie would ask was not the Government ready with a Bill in unison with the principle of those resolutions ?—( Hear.) But the fact policy, was at the time to be a candidate for was that one of the leading men of the party which, in the other House, was opposed to the Government with regard to Westminster—( Hear, hear)—to secure whose election most improper practices were resorted to, and the Queen's name moot improperly made use of.—(Hear, hear, hear.) Now, if the Bill which they professed tsovastroeonptsit;lefdorton t th ho eir oi C ty an o a f dian themselves to be inclined to bring in had chanced to have been unpopular to that party it would not have been easy for them to have supported the candidate for Westminster.— (Loud cheers.) This, then, he considered was one of the charge was the state in which the Government had left the a ys n a a s n e " v v i e d r e . n t rhoem next the colony with respect charges Lord Gosford had dispatches that as to the disturbance of the tranquillity of Lower Canada very soon after the resolutions arrived there. There was sufficient • of what was likely to take place given to the Go wariiing rnor, and he ought to have had troops in the neighbourhood, whichhe v a e nd to have had support enough at hand not only to have quelled but to ha ve p revented the disasters which had t a k en p aeo.( Hear, hear.) But it app eared that there had been ; so few .n troops Lower Canada that the Governor was in duced to ask the Upper Province for a supply, and the Go vernor of that Pro vince had, h® (Lord Wh arnc liff e ) consi dered with unbecoming rashness, granted that supply ; and could any reaso nable man doubt fora moment that to the taking away of those very troops all the mischief which had followed in that Province was to be attributed ?—( Hear.) He had n o doubt whatever that the inhabitants of Upper Canada had be en , a nd would continue, loyal and well affected to this country ; but the G overnmen t had no right to depend u p on tnat loyalty a lone, or to leave every man in the province in a state which made him liable to he called out to serve, when a few well-disciplined troops would have far better answered the purpose.—( This unfortunate dependence on men not under discipline had led to the position in which they were now placed with regard to the United States of America. ( Hear.) One thing they had done was to consent to their Bill being altered in its preamble. The next thing was to throw out a sop to their supporters by the appointment of Lord Durham.—( Hear.) He ( Lord Wharncliffe) had the greatest possible respect for the Noble Lord, but he must can didly say that he knew cf only one reason why he was likely to be approved of, and that was, that he was known to possess Liberal, or, as they ought more properly to be called, Ultra- Liberal opinions—( Hear)—and that he had gone farther than any other person who could be selected in the expression of o pinions consonant with those of the Radical party.—( Hear.) That Noble Lord had as much right to have his political opi nions as he ( Lord Wharncliffe) had ; but he must say that the fact of the Noble Lord entertaining opinions such as he had described did not ren d er him the most proper person to place ;it the head of a country so situated as Canada was. He must confess that if he (Lord Wharncliffe) were in Canada and were one of those who were well affected to this coun try, he should look upon the appointment of the Noble Lord with considerable suspicion; whilst if lie were Mr. Papineau, or one of the republican party there, he should look upon the Noble Lord as one of those of whom, more than many others, he might make what in this country was termed squeezable" materials.—( Hear, hear.) With respect to the suspension of the Canadian Constitution, he was not quite satisfied that it would not have been possible to have done without it, if, when they had passed the Bill of 1831, they had at once declared that the Legislative Council should not be made elective.—( Hear, hear.) Lord GLENE LG said the only thing lie regretted during s he progress of all these debates upon Canada in their Lord ships' House, and which had been conducted in a manner be yond all praise, and particularly on the part of the Noble Duke opposite, was that the Noble Baron who had just sat down had mixed up so much of party spirit in the observa tions be had addressed to their Lordships.—( Hear, hear.) But what were the charges the Noble Baron now brought against the Government? lie said it was impossible to read the resolutions which the Canadians passed in 1834 without seeing that they wished to form a connection with the United States of America. He ( Lord Glenelg), too, firmly be lieved that their object was then to torm a republic.— ( Hear, hear.) But he wanted to know what the Noble Baron said ought to have been the conduct of the Government at the time ; because—and it should not be forgotten—those very ninety-two resolutions were referred to a Committee of the House, which, after deeply considering the questions to which they referred, and after having examined a great number of witnesses, made a report upon them, and the decision therein come to was, that the grievances had in a great measure been I redressed, but that there were other topics connected with them which they thought would be better left to the manage ] meat and discretion of the Executive Government than brought before the Imperial Parliament.--( Hear. hear.) The Noble Lord opposite had complained that the Government had used delay ; but he (Lord Glenelg) could see no ground for any such complaint. When Lord Gosford went to take charge of the Government of these provinces the Canadians of Quebec and its neighbourhood were strongly connected with the Papi neau party. They had complete dominion over both banks of the St. Lawrence below Quebec, and, let him ask, if they had, instead of remaining tranquil as they had done, taken a part in the present contest, what would have been the con sequence ?—( Hear, hear.) These very parties, however, had separated from Mr. Papineau and his adherents, and had now, for two years past, remained faithful and loyal.—( Hear, bear.) With respect also to the adjoining provinces of Now Bruns wick and Nova Scotia great changes had taken place. They certainly complained of some few grievances ; but he was as sured that in those provinces there was at the present time a more deep-rooted affection towards England—a stronger de sire to maintain a connection with the mother country—than there ever had previously been.—( Hear, hear.) These were very great advantages, and he could not but think that it was rather hard to make so many charges against Lord Gosford. The question of the military defence of the provinces had been much discussed, both by their Lordships and elsewhere, but he did not think it necessary to enlarge upon that point en the present occasion. He might, however, take that opportunity of obserfiing that none of the autl:orities, either civil or mili tary, in the colony, considered that there was the slightest ap prehension of danger. With respect to the Upper Province, is was apparent that Sir F. Head had very willingly divested himself of the troops there ; and he (Lord Glenelg) could not but offer his thanks to the Noble Duke opposite, for his very statesmanlike views upon these points ; and he could assure the Noble Duke that, in conformity with his advice, he trusted he should not fail to continue to give his best attention to the topics on which he had enlarged.—(Hear.) In the preseut situation of these colonies it could not but be satisfactory to hear that the American Government was prepared to do its duty towards this country—( Hear)—and that amity and good feeling were in no danger of being interrupted. With regard to the instructions given to his Noble Friend (Lord Durham), he begged to say that, in spite of the arguments used to the . contrary, it was not p ro p ose d that the C omm i ttee o f Ad v i ce should have a legislative power.—( Hear.) That Committee would not in the least infringe upon the powers of the Legis lature ; it was entirely a separate transaction ; and it had been considered only proper a measure of such vast importance should have the particular sanction and authority of the Queen. —( Hear.) The Noble Earl (Durham) would go out with his discretion wholly unfettered; and he must confess that, whilst he agreed with the Noble Duke that in any steps that might to be taken in Canada the wishes and feelings of the people themselves ought to be consulted, he could not see how this Committee, possessing as it did no legislative power, could be considered an encroachment on the Legislature of Upper or Lower Canada.—( Hear.) He would not, on the present oc casion, enlarge upon the alteration made in the words of the preamble of the Bill. In his opinion, the purport and sub stance was the same as before.—( Hear.) With regard to the province of Upper Canada, it was impossible they could leave it in its present state. He trusted that at some future day the Canadas would become a great nation ; it was a noble spectacle for contemplation, and far be it from him to shrink from the contemplation, or to regard it otherwise than with transport. But he did not think their becoming a nation would prevent a continuance of the connection with the mother country. Lot them have justice—(Cheers)—that which corn mon sense approved, and he would assert boldly that the feeling of natural attachment would make the Canadians glory in our greatness and triumph in our triumphs, even when they had become a mighty nation, spreading over a vrst Continent. That they had no wish for separation had been proved by the glorious conduct of Upper Canada. The purpose of these instructions was to secure a Constitution agreeable to both provinces. He believed that there were many persons in Upper and Lower Canada, and also in this country, who went a great deal further than he was disposed to go at present, and who would wish to see a federal union between the two pro vinces. That was a question which required great considera tion, bnt it was one for his Noble Friend (Lord Durham) — one on which he (Lord Glenelg) would not now enter—but one which had been so well received in Canada, that he thought much blame could not be attached to the Government if they turned their attention seriously to it. The Duke of WELLINGTON here made some remarks, which were but indistinctly audible in the Gallery. As well as we could hear, we understood his Grace to say that his ob jection was to have a Council selected from Upper Canada to legislate for the Lower Province ; that he was willing to al low the greatest latitude for consultation, but did not wish such consultation to be limited by these instructions. Lord ASHBURTON said the grievances at first com plained of by the Assembly were fair and honest, but means had been placed in their own hands to provide a remedy. But they soon got beyond their real grievances, and were encou raged, by the feebleness and vacillation of Government, to think separation practicable—a thing which never would have occurred to them were it not for that cause.—(Hear, hear.) He was quite confident that it was impossible to look at the case fairly without thinking so. The misfortunes attending on such a separation would be twofold--not only would the French population want to be independent, but they would put their feet upon the necks of our own people.—( Hear, hear.) If the question was merely whether they should be al lowed to set up for themselves, he would say let them please themselves—but then the English minority, there was the difficulty.—( Hear, hear.) The moment the French obtained their independence they would persecute the British, if not with overt acts of rigour, at least by snaking them so uncom fortable as to render longer residence impossible. After one or two observations from Lord GL ENE LG the Bill was read a second time, and ordered to be committed on Monday. Lord BBOUGH AM moved, without styling him agent to the House of Assembly, that John Arthur Roebuck, Esq., be heard at the bar of their Lordships' House on Monday next against the passing of the Canada Bill— Agreed to. The Third Report of the Commissioners of Education ( Scotland) was laid on the table, after which the llouse ad journed until Monday next. HOUSE OF COMMONS, FEB. 2. The SPEAKER took the chair at the usual hour, when Mr. BINGHAM BARING took the oaths and his scat for Marlborough. Messengers from the Navy Office and the East India House presented Papers. Mr. PARROTT presented a petition from an individual of Totness, in Devonshire, complaining of the Standing Orders of the House. He wished to have the opinion of the Speaker as to the petition. In consequence of the House suddenly adjourning from Monday to this day, the petitioner would be shut out from being heard, as the rule of the House was that three clear days must elapse before a petitioner could be heard, and the Committee was sum moned for Monday. The petition was in town on Thursday. The SPEAKER thought that the House could have no difficulty in placing the petitioner in as advantageous a position as he would h ave s t oo d i n if th e H ouse ha sat on Thursday. The petition was then referred to the Committee on Private Bills. Mr. JENKINS presented a petition from a place in Salop against the Ellesmere Roads Bill. FINSBURY SMALL DEBTS BILL. Mr. EARLE presented a petition from the Counsel of the Palace Court, stating that a Bill was pending in that House for the Recovery of Small Debts in Finsbury ; that there were certain Clauses in that Bill tending to in jure them in their office; and praying they might be heard by their Counsel or agents against such Clauses. Referred to the'Committee. Mr. HINDLEY presented a petition against the Glas gow Water Works Bill. EDINBURGH ESTATES BILL. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL presented a petition from the Lord Provost, Magistrates, Town Council, the Trustees for the Creditors of the City of Edinburgh, aid a number of the Creditors, praying for a Bill to alter the Edinburgh City E :Wes Act. MARINE INSURANCES. Mr.WALL ACE presented a petition from the Chamber of Commerce in Greenock, praying for the repeal of the duty on Marine Insurances. RATES OF POSTAGES. Mr. WALLACE also presented a petition from the Chamber of Commerce in Greenock, and from another town in Scotland, praying for a reduction in the rates of Postages. NEW POOR LAW. Mr. GRIMSDITCH presented a petition from a parish in the county of Durham, praying for the immediate and total repeal of the New Poor Law Act. The petitioners stated that they viewed with alarm the powers which are given to the Commissioners—they considered the bastardy clauses too severe—and they complained that whereas the affairs of their parish were satisfactorily- managed by their own select vestry, they were about to be joined to a Union of fifteen other parishes. NEGRO APPRENTICES. Mr. ERLE presented a petition from Oxford against the Negro Apprenticeship System in the Colonies. Mr. DUCKWORTH presented a similar petition from Lincoln. LAW OF PATENTS. Mr. MACKINNON presented a petition from St. ißotolph's, Bishopsgate, in favour of the Bill which he has introduced to amend the Law of Patents. _ . CANADA. Mr. HANDLEY presented a petition from Ashton under-Line, praying the Hnuse to adopt conciliatory mea sures towards the people of Canada. MARINE INSURANCE. Mr. REDDINGTON presented a petition from mer chants and others of the borough of Dundalk, praying for a repeal of the duty on Marine Insurance. An HoN. MEMBER, whose name we could not learn, pre sented a similar petition from the %Vest Indian Association of Gloucester. BALLOT. Colonel SALWEY presented a petition from Ludlow in favour of the Ballot. SHERIFFS' COURTS. An Hort. MEMBER presented a petition from Lineo . n, for an extension of the Jurisdiction of Sheriffs' Courts, anl for various Amendments in the Sheriff' Courts Bill new before the House. NORTHAMPTON SMALL DEBTS COURT. Mr. SMITH presentel a petition from Northampton, praying for the establishment of a Court of Record for small debts for the county, similar to that existing in the town. NEGRO APPRENTICESHIP. Lord A. PAGET presented a petition from a place, the name of which we could not exactly catch—it sounded like Witham—against the system of ❑earo apprenticeship in the Colonies. Mr. ETWALL presented a petition fro:n Andover in favour of the apprenticed negroes. CANADA. Mr. HUME presented a petition from the Cumnock (Ayr) Radical Association, deprecating the resolutions passed last year regarding Canada, as an infringement on the just rights of the Canadians ; and praying this House to refuse all supplies, whether of men or money, for the purpose of coercing the Canadians. The Hon. Member, seeing the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his place, would take that opportunity of presenting a petition which was of considerable importance, and which was signed by all the leading merchants, traders, and brokers of the city of London. The petitioners complained, and he thought with great reason, of a system adopted within the last few months, by the Stamp-office, of charging the Price Current, and not allowing the names of persons to be inserted in the Commercial Daily List with out such payment. The petition alluded to a notice of motion relating to the same subject which be (Mr. H.) had placed on the books for to-night, when he would have an opportunity of entering more at large into the grievances complained of by the petitioners. CANADA. Mr. LEADER presented a petition agreed to at a large meeting which was held at Edinburgh, and signed by John Fraser, the Chairman, on behalf of the meeting, against the coercion of Canada. NEGRO APPRENTICESHIP. _ _ _ Mr. BAINES presented a petition from Leeds, signed by 15,000 inhabitants of that town, complaining that, not withstanding the measures which had been taken by Go vernment to put down slavery in the West Indies, its most aggravated featurs still remained. The petitioners stated, under the apprenticeship system the negroes were treated with the greatest cruelty—that the food given them was in sufficient for sustenance—and that the whole system was re pulsive to every principle of English law. They stated, also, that proof could be adduced that the system ope rated in a manner most prejudicial to British interests ; and they say there would be no difficulty in putting an end to a system repugnant to every feeling of justice and huma nity, because, in the islands of Antigua and Bermuda, the experiment of liberating theNslaves had been tried, and it had not been found that the public peace of these islands was less complete than when the apprenticeship system was in force. They therefore prayed that an end might be put to the system on the Ist of August next at the latest. As the Hon. Member for Warwickshire had given notice of a motion on the subject, he (Mr. B.) would not at present say more than that a strong feeling prevailed throughout the country on the subject, and that he hoped measures would be adopted to settle this question on the principles of humanity and benevolence. COAL TRADE OF LONDON. LABOUCHERE gave notice that on Monday next he should move that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House, to consider the Act 1 Will. 4, c. 76, regulating the coal trade of the port of London. SHERIFFS' COURT (SCOTLAND) BILL. Captain GORDON presented a petition from the advocates of Aberdeen against the Sheriffs' Court Scot land Bill. Seeing the Learned Lord in his place, he begged to ask him whether he had any objection to postpone the Bill. The LORD ADVOCATE had been frequently reproached for putting off Bills, and he had afterwards found the greatest difficulty in bringing those Bills forward. He intended to propose several alterations in the Committee on the Bill, which he trusted would remove all the objec tions that at present existed. A HON. MEMBER, whose name we could not learn, pre sented two petitions in favour of the Ballot. Sir R. INGLIS presented a petition from the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral Church of Exeter against the suppression of the Bishopric of Sodor and Man. Lord SANDON presented a petition from the Torn Council of Liverpool, praying for an immediate repeal of the Apprenticeship clauses of the Bill for abolishing Slavery in the West Indies. Lord C. FITZROY presented a petition to the same effect from Bury St. Edmunds. EDUCATION IN SCOTLAND. An HON. MEMBER (we believe Mr. ClltslloLI!) beg ged to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whom he then saw in his place, whether it was his intention to proceed with the Bill for the:extension of education in the Highlands of Scotland. It was a subject upon which great anxiety was felt in that country, and he had been requested to press it upon the attention of the Right Honourable Gen tleman opposite. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, who spoke in an exceedingly low tone of voice, with his back to the Reporters' Gallery, was understood to say that he would proceed with the Bill on Tuesday. Mr. WA KLEY would take that opportunity of asking the Right Hon. Gentleman, whether he was prepared to pro ceed with any measure for the extension of education inEng land, where it was as much wanted as in Scotland. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the present was not a suitable occasion for going into the question raised by the Hon. Member for Finsbury. The Bill to which the Hon. Member opposite had referred, related only to a few parishes, and he only brought it for ward to enable him to carry into effect a declaration which he had made to a deputation which had waited upon him. LINEN YARN. Mr. BAINES moved for returns of the quantities of Linen Yarn exported in the years 1834, 1835, 1836, and 1837, respectively. COURT OF SESSION—SCOTLAND. The LORD ADVOCATE gave notice that he would on Monday move that the House resolve itself into a Com mittee of the whole House on the Court of Session Scot land Bill. Sir GEORGE SINCLAIR wished to ask his Right Hon. Friend, whether it was his intention to propose any alteration in the salaries of the Scotch Judges during the present Session ? The LORD ADVOCATE stated that he was unable, at present, to answer the question of the Hon. Baronet. CANADA. Sir ROBERT INGLIS wished to ask a question on two subjects of considerable importance. The first related to the Caroline steamer, and he wished, to know whether the Government were in possession of any further accounts than had appeared in the American papers. The second point was, whether the Noble Lord would favour the House with a statement of the situation in which Mr. Fox, her Majesty's Minister at Washington, was now placed towards the Government of the United tates ? Lord PALMERSTON said that with regard to the Caroline, no official accounts had been received at the Co lonial office, and nothing on the subject was known except. what had appeared in the American newspapers. He couldl answer the question with relation to Mr. Fox, as de spatches had been received from him in the course of the day. These despatches were dated the sth January. Mr. Fox on the 2d January had received a letter from Sir Francis Head, stating what had taken place with regard to Navy Island, and the occupation of that place by a body of persons armed and equipped within the territory of the United States, and assisted by American citizens. Mr. Fox, therefore, communicated these facts to the Secre tary of the United States, and received in reply a friendly communication ; in the first instance verbally from Mr. Fc,r sy th, containing an expression of sentiments such as might be expected from the friendly spirit of the United States Go vernment towards this country, and the high sense of honour by which that country has been actuated in its dealings with foreign countries. On the sth inst. he had received a note, in which Mr. Forsyth assured Mr. Fox that all the Consti tutional powers vested in the Executive would be exercised to maintain the supremacy of this country, and that they should be always disposed to fulfil the obligations of the United States Government to all those nations which were engaged in foreign or domestic wars. In addiGoa to the assurance that all powers now vested in the Central Government, for the purpose of preventing aggression, the President on the sth sent down a mes sage to the Congress, stating to it, that the law as it stood was insufficient to enable the Government to prevent such proceedings, and asking Congress to give the Executive further powers for that purpose. Upon that communication a short discussion took place in the Congress, in which many of the leading men took part, and in which all persons who spoke expressed sentiments of the most friendly description towards this country. (Cheers.) 'They also stated that it was their strong wish that the laws should be enforced, and if the , laws, "as they at present existed, were not sufficient, stronger powers ought to be g iven.—(Cheers.) Nothing could be more satisfactory than the communications that had taken place between her Majesty's Government and that of the United States. He thought that the House.: might confidently t r ust—although there might have bee%,s, on both sides, acts committed not consistent with the laws,